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Jane M. Strong
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Jane M. Strong, 65, of Turlock died peacefully at home and entered into eternal life on Sept. 18, 2016, after a four-and-a-half-year struggle with breast cancer.

Jane was born in Toledo, Ohio, on Aug. 6, 1951, to the late Frank and Agnes Drlik. She was raised in Sandusky and Oregon, Ohio and graduated in 1969 from Cardinal Stritch High School in Oregon, Ohio, where she was voted “Best Dancer in the Senior Class.” She graduated as a radiologic technologist from the St. Charles Hospital Radiology Program in 1971 and as a nuclear medicine technologist from the Ohio State University School of Nuclear Medicine in 1972. Jane was a lifelong Buckeyes fan.

She worked as a nuclear medicine technologist at the University of Michigan, at Mercy Hospital in Toledo, Ohio, and at St. Charles Hospital in Oregon, Ohio. Jane was a radiologic technologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Toledo, Ohio and in Manahawkin, N.J., and worked in the medical field in Canton, Ohio. She loved her work in medicine.

Jane was an advocate for children with disabilities, especially those with intellectual disabilities. She worked for more than ten years as a parent mentor for the Canton City Schools (Ohio), functioning as a liaison between parents with children with specials needs and the Canton City Schools to inform, educate, and resolve conflict. She volunteered with many groups, including Special Olympics, Challenger Baseball, and other organizations that helped children with special needs. 

Jane was a very kind, generous and genuine person who loved having friends and made them easily. She cherished her friends from her school days and she recently enjoyed a visit from her Bunco buddies of 45-plus years. Jane loved music, dancing, socializing, traveling, visiting Yosemite, and most of all her family.

She met her husband dancing (she was a much better dancer than he was) and they enjoyed music, traveling, enjoying the beach and ocean and spending time together. She made friends wherever she was: Toledo, Ohio; Beach Haven, New Jersey; Canton, Ohio; Whittier and Turlock, California; and the Stanford Medical Center. She always seemed to know everyone by name.

Jane was a devout Roman Catholic and her strong faith supported her and she kept a positive and grateful attitude through all her health battles. She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Jim, Turlock, Calif.; their three children, Alicia Dorman (Michael), Lakewood, Calif.; Nick Strong, Turlock, Calif.; and Maggie Strong, Los Angeles, Calif.; mother-in-law, Ruth Strong and brother-in-law Jeff Strong, Beach Haven, New Jersey; brothers: Scott Drlik (Patricia), Dublin, Ohio; David (Kathy) Drlik and Thomas Drlik, Toledo, Ohio; and Patrick (Dawn) Drlik, Mansfield, Ohio; sisters Charlotte (Gus) Costanzo, Walbridge, Ohio; Donna (Larry) Ryczek, Perrysburg, Ohio; and uncle Emil Drlik, Toledo, Ohio. She also leaves 11 cousins; 17 nieces and nephews, 23 great-nieces and great-nephews and one great-great niece. Jane had many dear friends, including Max her dog, from coast to coast. She will be greatly missed and warmly remembered.

Memorial donations can be made in in Jane’s memory to the Gift Fund for Dr. Mark Pegram, whose dedication to her health over the last four and a half years was greatly appreciated by Jane and Jim.  Gifts may be mailed to: Stanford University, Development Services, P.O. Box 20466, Stanford, CA 94309-0466. Alternatively, memorial contributions can be made in Jane’s memory to the Drlik Family Scholarship at Cardinal Stritch High School, 3225 Pickle Rd Oregon, OH 43616 or online giving at katerischools.org.

Visiting hours are from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 21, with a rosary service at 6:00 p.m. at the Turlock Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 425 N. Soderquist Rd., Turlock, CA. A funeral mass will be on Sat., Oct. 22, at 10 a.m., at the All Saints Parish Church, 4040 McKenna Drive, Turlock, CA. There will be a luncheon afterward at the Turlock Memorial Park and Funeral Home. There will also be a memorial mass in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday November 26, 2016 at 10:00 a.m., at St. Jerome Church in Walbridge, Ohio. Additionally, the Catholic Daughters of Whittier, Calif. will hold a memorial service and the date, time and location will be forthcoming.